*Gavin is boarding. You need to get here now.*

I looked at my mother, then at my father.

My father was staring at Helen, a look of desperate hope returning to his eyes.

“What do you want, Helen?” I asked.

“I want this folder,” she said, pointing to the proof of embezzlement. “And I want you to leave this estate tonight.”

“I’m not leaving,” I said.

“Then I make one phone call to the county coroner,” Helen said. “And the Cumberland Avenue estate becomes a crime scene.”

My heart hammered against my ribs.

I had to make a choice.

The harbor docks were twenty minutes away.

If I stayed to fight my mother, Gavin would escape with the laptop and the final ledger.

If I left, my mother would destroy the evidence against my father.

“You have until tomorrow morning to decide,” Helen said.

She picked up the folder.

“I’ll keep this for safekeeping,” she added.

“Put that down,” I said, stepping forward.

She didn’t move.

She held the folder against her chest.

“Go find your husband, Emily,” Helen said. “Let’s see what is left of your empire when you return.”